Yard

Yard is a 21 story mixed-use building that will combine residential, commercial, retail, office and parking. Side Yard is a 20,000 sq ft pedestrian and bicyclist buffer at the foot of the development. They are located in a former industrial neighborhood in Portland Oregon’s central eastside, adjacent to the legendary Burnside Skate Park.

The building responds to the sloping site and arterial infrastructure with an elevated podium eco-roof that engages the pedestrian platform on the Burnside Bridge.

The lifting and folding geometry of the roof abstracts the historic river profile in form. Resting above the podium is a residential tower. The majority of the site is dedicated to the eco-roof podium that serves to manage stormwater.

Yard is part of the Portland Development Commission’s Burnside Bridgehead Master Plan, an effort to revitalize entrepreneurial development in Portland.

Location: Portland, OR

Nike World HQ

Owl Creek Residence

This residence serves as a vacation retreat for a brother and sister and their respective families. Using the strict constraints of the site as an advantage, Skylab framed powerful views on each side of this triangular structure- maximizing a connection to nature at every angle.

Finishes and interior spacial relationships were carefully crafted in an effort to bring the scenic landscape inward, making it an extension of the living experience. Calm, axial alignments are framed with a studied palette of rich materials. Compact and efficient suites open up to expansive outdoor views on either side of the home’s triangular axis. A generous living floor with grand fireplace, bar, and lounge is spread across a single open space, allowing natural light and landscape reflections to stream through.

Exterior spaces open interior activity up into the outdoors. This includes a spa with panoramic views, an elevated deck and an expansive outdoor terrace right off of the kitchen. The Owl Creek residence is truly a modern and serene rocky mountain retreat.

Location: Snowmass, COAwards: 2015 AIA Portland Small Project Award

Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Sustainable and iconic cities emerge from the interplay between what is preserved and what is new. By exploring strategies to recontextualize and update programming, this proposed historic revitalization breathes new life into a masterpiece of 20th century architecture, and contributes to Portland’s long running riverfront renaissance.

The project proposes to renovate and upgrade the threatened historic 1960 Veterans Memorial Coliseum. While iconic, the current concrete bowl isn’t able to respond to ADA, seismic concerns, and modern programming demands and flexibility. The design scheme proposes a thickening of the bowl in order to serve these functions and purify the original concept by concealing all columns. The bowl is sheathed in reclaimed Oregon Douglas Fir to highlight it’s shape. Light and form are highlighted through the façade heightening it’s presence in the skyline as well as strengthen it’s relationship to the adjacent Moda Center. The historic berm surrounding the glazed box is carved out to provide enhanced event space and a west facing roof deck. Deliberately utilizing the landscape to minimize the presence of new program within it’s historic context. The extensive roof area is better utilized by deploying an array of PV panels. These modifications connect the coliseum more directly to the river and transit corridors that have evolved over 50 years to isolate it, and renew its cross-river visual impact, part of what made it an icon in its heyday. The project intends to maximize the functionality of the Coliseum, through upgrades including new restrooms and concessions, luxury suites, new ADA compliance, and the installation of a hydraulic floor. This flexible staging shift can accommodate a 200-meter track, concerts of varying sizes, olympic swimming pool, a velodrome, and many other formats. The coliseum becomes a flexible event space, supporting contemporary performance and sport, connecting the city to its past and its future.

Location: Portland, ORAwards: 2105 AIA Unbuilt Award – Merit Award

Playpen Residence

Playpen is a production space and residence marrying a passion for bass guitars, music making, painting, and skate boarding. Retaining the existing buildings on the site, a new 6,000sf multi-story structure rests on a footprint of 2,500sf. The studio on the ground floor is a place to make art, record music, perform, and skate. A private residence and artist-in-residence quarters occupy the second and third floors. Inspired in part by Gordon Matta Clark’s “Building Cuts”, two existing warehouses on the site, occupying 9,500 square feet, are cut into and modified, but retained in full. Peeling back the roof of one and slicing the other, the warehouses are fused at the site’s core with a geometric insertion blending the future with the past.

A three-story building on a site zoned for five, the design intentionally underdevelops the property. Green roofs and outdoor yards introduce 1/3 of the site back to greenspace in order to fully manage stormwater runoff.

The program for the space is developed out of a highly-iterative design process allowing rooms to be shaped while informing the program. Geometric forms, fitted as if they were a puzzle, are carved with angular skylights and combined into flexible space. Circulation throughout results in a collapsing of barriers to making. From performance hall, to indoor skate park, to a camp fire on the yard, gathering spaces afford unique ways to collaborate and share ideas, something at the core of making of art and music.

Location: Portland, OR

Spencer Court

At a quarter city block and roughly eighteen thousand square feet, Spencer Court reimagined an abandoned century-old building into a flourishing member of the vibrant West End neighborhood in downtown Portland. Skylab was tasked with the core / shell renovation design concept, while incorporating entirely new building infrastructure with a full seismic upgrade.

Sensitivity and care were taken to preserve the existing building shell, which included sandblasting of fire-damaged timber structure, bracing of brick piers, and exposing of interior columns and beams. A selective play of incisions was used to enrich spatial experience and create facade depth. Monumental expanses of curtain wall allow light to access deep within the building and full-height sliding doors help activate the urban connection between pedestrians and tenants alike. Steel thresholds frame building entries while awnings introduce rhythm to a previously barren streetscape.

Inside, a double-height lobby with upper skylight visually connects the floors and provides a common public gathering space for all users. New tenants include a variety of shops and restaurants at ground level and creative offices on the upper floor.

Provisions for future development were also incorporated, including a head house for roof deck access and a foundation for an elevator tower to serve an adjacent rooftop restaurant.

Location: Portland, OR

W Hotel Seattle

Originally constructed in 1998, the W Seattle Hotel was in need of a comprehensive renovation to both update the building’s public facilities and reinforce the hotel’s distinct W brand. Skylab has developed in conjunction with Host Hotel, Starwood Hotels and W Seattle management a concept rooted in local history, technology, and culture.

Materiality ranges from the sleek - via smoked mirrors and polished stainless steel panels, to the soft - via custom fabrics, carpets, and draperies. A multitude of custom furniture pieces and light fixtures add detail throughout the spaces, and an abundance of built-in seating creates a sense of place.

Location: Seattle, WA

Columbia Building

The Columbia Building Wastewater Treatment Plant (CBWTP) Engineering Building is an 11,640 sq. ft. open-studio office building for the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). Housing engineers, inspectors, and administrators, it provides high-tech conference space and a public-use lobby and meeting room. Substantial site redesign reintroduces native habitat and provides an interactive, educational depiction of current water treatment programs.

The project fosters collaboration among architectural offices, and public officials to elevate the design and quality of publicly funded facilities in the Portland area. City required LEED Gold certification, and Bureau-led programs defined the systems of the building. The BES focuses its efforts to protecting the quality of storm and wastewater pollution discharged into the sewage system, through the CBWTP, and back into the rivers. Storm water filtrating facilities, and vegetated roofs called “ecoroofs” are programs that the BES utilizes to ensure sustainable storm water management in Portland area.

Location: Portland, OR

Skylodge

Sitting at 8,900 feet of elevation in the mountains of Utah, Summit Skylodge is comprised of two yurts anchored by a 5,500-square-foot event center customized from Skylab’s HOMB modular construction system.

Drum-shaped and column-free, the yurts serve as flexible gathering spaces. A sunken floor in the lounge area, references the experience of gathering around a campfire, and can be raised to accommodate lectures. The dining yurt seats 80. A kitchen, prep-area, bathroom, and bar modules are snapped into place, fusing curvilinear and triangular form with an unusual geometric effect.

Unpretentious and inviting, the property is a modern interpretation of mountain culture.

Location: Powder Mountain, UT

Departure

Departure is a 9,000 square foot rooftop restaurant and lounge. It is situated on the top floor of the Meier & Frank Building - originally built in 1908 and on the National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon. Once a cultural icon, the building has recently been renovated into a luxury hotel, restaurant, and department store. This project highlights Skylab’s capability to meld an existing structure with high design recreating a new experience for the community to engage in the heart of Downtown Portland. The concept is grounded in the history of the site. Responding to the past, when a department store or a luxury vessel could serve as a cultural outpost. The main dining room is a cockpit-like space. A teak-clad smokestack bar penetrates a skylight. The skylight cuts 65 feet along the ceiling and continues down a main wall. A chart work mural of fantasy islands spans 50 feet encircling the dining room. Seating 100, the dining room is defined by marine teak decking, sailcloth panels, and helm bar seating. Taking advantage of expansive horizontal views, a stateroom and lounge adjoin decks on the east and west. From banquette seating facing out, sliding glass doors reveal a floor-to-ceiling view of downtown.

Location: Portland, OR

The Artisans Cup

A steadily growing subset of the millenia-old artform, led by Ryan Neil and his groundbreaking Bonsai incubator Bonsai Mirai, American Bonsai honors tradition while pushing the artistic boundaries of what is possible. But one thing has remained missing: A world- class exhibition of American Bonsai, showcasing the best and brightest talent in tree design as well as the artisans who are creating stunning supporting design elements such as ceramics, woodwork, tools, and more.

Skylab Architecture designed a full-scale exhibition for The Artisans Cup at the Portland Art Museum. This exhibition and competition is the leading expression of American Bonsai, showcasing the highest level of craftsmanship and skill in this experimental environment intended to engage and inspire a new era of Bonsai artists and vision.

Our approach had to marry the display of 72 living trees (which had a wide range of scales) while at the same time delivering a cohesive and powerfully immersive narrative experience for both Bonsai practitioners and general public audiences.

Location: Portland, ORAwards: 2015 AIA Award for Small Projects

Nike Olympic Trials

Camp Victory was a temporary exhibition space showcasing Nike innovations during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials track & field competition. A series of three pavilions were installed for ten days at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. The first EugeneOlympic Trials were held in 1972. Adjacent to the field Nike Camp Victory was a temporary highly interactive 150’ x 80’ playground. Inspired by the visualization of speed a network of fabricated tensile pavilions and tracks responded to the mission of experiencing how fast is fast.

The visualization of kinetic energy took the form of explosive triangular pavilions, three stories in height, sheathed in a light-weight translucent poly membrane. Like a sprinter coming out of the starting blocks, the pavilions lean and cantilever, stretching to their structural physical boundaries. The steel-framed pavilions are a hyper-light translation of the posture and tectonics of speed. Intersecting running track lanes connect the pavilions in a geometry of unfolding and refolding of space. Digital media is an immersive thread throughout the site, a result of a highly collaborative design process between the architecture and digital media development.

Location: Eugene, OR

Flavor Paper HQ

Flavor Paper specializes in custom hand screen printed wallpaper. Their new headquarters exists in a previous parking structure, re-conceived to showcase their work.

This adaptive reuse project houses their production facility, showroom, as well as two residential levels and an eco-roof deck. Two 50 foot long wallpaper screening tables are located in the middle of the ground floor space with a mirrored ceiling above that reflects and extends the production process via a mirrored canopy out to the street. The pedestrian along the street can engage in this hand made process participating in the overall experience. The building’s five levels are connected through a stair laced with a 60 foot tall neon installation inspired by one of Flavor Paper’s patterns. The building’s original windows were replaced with new steel boxes, dexterously placed into the old openings, expressing both the old and new. A roof garden at the upper level extends views back to Manhattan. Skylab’s approach to the project took advantage of a network of fabricators and artisans, to reimagine and deliver an adaptive reused spaces- redefining the building identity by comingling manufacturing and sales environments on an exceptionally aggressive budget and timeline.

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Hoke House

Conceived as an elegant and playful intersection of inside-out spaces, the Hoke Residence provides a venue for interplay between the vibrant outdoor environment and dramatic interior spaces that simultaneously shelter occupants, and frame the expanse of the surroundings. Living volumes are cantilevered to minimize the building footprint, and simultaneously heighten the light tree- house experience of the principal interior spaces. This duality is mirrored in the dwelling’s flowing spaces, moving between crisp and deftly angular details, and framed views of the forest canopy or the primeval boulders upslope. At once urban and wild, the residence is in harmony with, and a reflection of its location at the border of Portland and Forest Park.

Location: Portland, OR

12th & Alder

Arboretum Residence

North HQ

North’s desires were complex but clear: the advertising agency wanted a workspace to reflect its aggressive reorganization, to rethink its programmatic elements, to take inspiration from atypical employee interaction, and to connect to the city. North’s multifaceted output-- incorporating graphic design, video production, film editing, music recording, sound editing and photography-- necessitated a multifaceted workspace. The building’s design team found inspiration in Polar research stations and organized North’s disparate elements into three types of “module:” public, office program, and creative. The modules were laid out to create a dynamic work environment where a myriad of spaces were defined but the building’s historic shell remained untouched.

The modules all rested on elevated “Terrain” that provided a platform for flexible communication wiring, power distribution, and plumbing chases.The wiring chase was sheathed in carpet tile, and through design the tiles create a digital image based on a topographic map. This topography defines the intellectual terrain upon which the modulesintersect. The composition of modules climaxes with the “Think” module, a triple cantilevered wood paneled space stacked on a graphic designproduction module. The “Think” module boasts a clerestory window highlighting the office’s view of Portland’s west hills.

Location: Portland, OR

HOMB | Taft House

HOMB is a prefabricated modular system that redefines the architectural process and makes progressive design available to a broader audience. The system is based on a 100 square foot triangular module that can easily adapt to any condition, from a 20-foot wide infill site to an expansive steep sloping site.

The prefabrication process allows for high-quality design without the price tag. Many systems and finishes can be installed in factory saving time and materials. The basic module structure provides a framework for different grades of finishes to be used depending on the budget and use. HOMB’s architectural design sets it apart from the majority of prefab designs; providing a modern aesthetic while successfully responding to the needs of each unique project.

The 100 square foot module is capable of creating a variety of spaces and building types. The module can be used for 100 square foot cabins when tipped on its side or a 100,000 square foot mixed-use urban infill building when stacked 5 stories high. Modules are connected through a simple bolting system allowing them to be used for projects that are temporary or may require relocation in which they can be easily disassembled and reused on a different site.

The 28 triangle units that make up the HOMB Prototype were manufactured in Washington and shipped to the Northeast Portland site on a convoy of six trucks. The modules were installed onsite in a single day with many of the finishes and building systems already integrated.

The HOMB Prototype has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and an accessory dwelling unit for a total of 3,930 square feet. Two inches of rigid insulation plus blown-in insulation and a heat recovery system results in a highly efficient home. Additionally, a 6-kilowatt solar array is installed on the rooftop and cement planters out front whisk away stormwater.

Location: Portland, OR

Doug Fir

Doug Fir embodies an idealized vision of what Portland could be. It depicts a northwest modernism melded with a log cabin and a hipster bar. The mountain lodge aesthetic merged with existing modernist elements of the previous motel capture the optimistic experience of travel and motels in the northwest.

Existing large glulam beams were restored and offset by new modern finishes like stainless steel, glass block and chrome ceiling panels applied in a new manor. The futuristic application of modern materials, careful programming of space juxtaposed against an existing modernist structure create an unique experience and architecture.

Location: Portland, OR

Blackbox

Blackbox is located at a confluence of urban activity and neighborhoods. The adaptive reuse project has become an anchor and link between two burgeoning neighborhoods, Downtown Portland and the Pearl District. The development team seized the opportunity to incorporate this two story building with the growing West End neighborhoods and establish this important intersection. By splitting the small 5,000 square foot ground floor into 5 leasable spaces, the development team aimed to appeal to local creative companies to showcase their products. A larger office space is located on the second floor and is home to Skylab's studio. The open studio space takes advantage of the building’s 50 feet of original glazing allowing each employee access to natural light and air at the workstation. Through clever uses of materials the development team was able to stretch the building’s modest budget to produce an exciting collection of tenants, each intelligently utilizing the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the neighborhood.

Location: Portland, OR

Luuit Park

Skylab Architecture alongside 2.ink Studio worked in close collaboration with Portland Parks to create a 16 acre park in a neighborhood of NE Portland long underserved by adequate park space. The design team is developing the park around an integrated strategy that creates both passive native meadow areas that require limited maintenance as well as intensively used spaces that provide active program elements for park users. The park’s design takes advantage of clear views to the Columbia River and Mt. St. Helens beyond and will bring in a strong sense of the area’s native habitat to tie all of the elements of the park together.

The park’s program elements were developed in coordination with area residents through a series of public open houses and ongoing meetings with the project’s Design Advisory Group. The park’s development will introduce a wide range of new activities onto the site including a community amphitheater, picnic shelter and restroom, off leash dog area, a large community playground, interactive water feature, parking areas, walking paths, and community garden.

The folded angular forms are influenced by the triangulated peaks of the surrounding mountains, Native American plank houses, and river fishing platforms.

Location: Portland, OR

Skyline Residence

Situated on a steep bank at the end of a small street, this residence turns a challenging site into a 3,300 square foot home with views of the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast Range. Due to the steep slope, a cast-in-place concrete plinth was constructed to anchor the structure and the two living volumes are stacked above perpendicularly. The turned placement and full height glazing maximize westerly views and capture spectacular sunsets.

The home’s interior is focused around a mobius strip kitchen. Clad in maple flooring and floating over bronze mirror, it defines the heart of the public space. The view is used as a key ingredient of the spatial palette, balancing the focus on the kitchen with a muted palette.

Stormwater runoff is collected from the building’s impervious areas and filtered through a network of channels into planters before connecting back to the city’s stormwater system.

Location: Portland, OR

Weave

West Burnside Street has long been a barrier between Portland’s downtown core and the Pearl District. Because it caters more to the automobile than the pedestrian, redevelopment on the street has had to focus north from the Brewery Blocks rather than in a typical radial fashion.

The Weave Building aims to surmount this impediment by stitching together the West End neighborhood south of Burnside with the Pearl District to the north. A proposed mixed-use, 9 story building consists of retail and office space that strives to connect tenants to each other, to their neighborhood, and to the city at large. The project site poses many obstacles to infill development including a small footprint (5,000 square feet), a national historic registry property to the west, a major traffic artery to the north, and the implausibility of parking on-site. The building design uses architectural innovation to meet these challenges by playfully reinterpreting the property line. This approach to form offers more sidewalk and landscaping to the pedestrian while adding space to the tight floor plates above. Such a trade-off benefits both private and public interests, resulting in a landmark design that creates a home for tenants, a connection between districts, and an identity for the site.

Sinju

Sinju restaurant takes cues from spatial values of traditional Japanese architecture to maximize density with contrasted open spaces. Seating 123, the restaurant appears more like an outdoor courtyard than an interior space. The backlit ceiling is a web of convex and concave pyramids that feel more like cloud cover than a rigid ceiling. The pyramidal patterning, borrowed from a traditional Japanese screen, is re-applied throughout the space. Pyramids of mirror line the back bar, foam pyramids serve as sound protection in areas, and wall screening and the slate tile floors are covered with the patterning. While subtle transcultural gestures are abstracted throughout, a private “blue room” with a wall tiled in sushi plates is icing on the metaphor cake.

Nau

The NAU webfront pioneers sustainable principles into the retail rollout category. The webfront sustainability strategy focuses on both common sense decisions and a unique prefabrication concept, both inspired by NAU's passion for the outdoors.

The retail sustainability strategy begins with the selection of webfront real estate, ideally in LEED rated facilities. The design intends to reduce waste from brand turnover by reusing existing flooring, walls, storefront, dressing rooms, egress lighting, HVAC, plumbing and electrical distribution. The retail installation is designed as a freestanding, highly functional environment to accommodate the reuse of space, similar to an exhibit within a pre-existing condition.

The installed environment is fabricated primarily of reclaimed MDF board, providing the structure, as well as, the finish of the fixture system. Reclaimed and recycled secondary materials include wood, rubber flooring, aluminum, ceramic tile and leather. It was the designs desire to create a sustainable environment that did not make any aesthetic sacrifices due to the decision to use sustainable materials. Technology is integrated into the product fixtures, where information can easily be accessed regarding product, promotions, policies and change agents, thus eliminating the need for wasteful printed communication materials.

Sorel

A modular approach to a global design of a retail store resulted in a shop concept that comes in sizes: XS, S, M and L and transforms into a tradeshow. Designed to be a pop-up, a shop-in-shop, a booth and a flagship retail space, components for retail scale to fit. Fixtures are stackable and nest for seasonal transformation. Wall units are modular, able to scale for growth, and can be re-configured and re-used.